I've done a similar trip, only going the other way. We hired a convertible coupe which added to the whole road-trip feel. We took in the awesome scale of the Yosemite National Park landscape. Death Valley is incredible, there's a hotel in the middle at Stovepipe Wells, with an outdoor pool from where I watched a sandstorm race across the valley. There's an old goldrush ghost town nearby called Bodie which is well worth taking a diversion to see. San Francisco is full of places to see and the Chinese Quarter is full of great restaurants. Hope this helps.